NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind. This includes all valued
characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, and electrical properties and forces. On earth it
includes: sunlight, atmosphere, water, land (includes all minerals) along with all vegetation and animal
life that naturally subsists upon or within the heretofore identified characteristics and substances

Characterized by the biodiversity and geo diversity existent in their ecosystems. Natural resources
may be further classified in different ways. Natural resources are materials and components
(something that can be used) that can be found within the environment. Every man-made product is
composed of natural resources (at its fundamental level). A natural resource may exist as a separate
entity such as fresh water, air, and as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an
alternate form that must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, petroleum, and most
forms of energy.

There is much debate worldwide over natural resource allocations, this is particularly true during
periods of increasing scarcity and shortages (depletion and overconsumption of resources) but also
because the exportation of natural resources is the basis for many economies (particularly for
developed countries).

Some natural resources such as sunlight and air can be found everywhere, and are known as
ubiquitous resources. However, most resources only occur in small sporadic areas, and are referred
to as localised resources. There are very few resources that are considered inexhaustible (will not run
out in foreseeable future) – these are solar radiation, geothermal energy, and air (though access to
clean air may not be). The vast majority of resources are theoretically exhaustible, which means they
have a finite quantity and can be depleted if managed improperly.

Classification

There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include source of origin, stage
of development, and by their renewability.

On the basis of origin, natural resources may be divided into two types:

Biotic — Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic material), such as forests
and animals, and the materials that can be obtained from them. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum
are also included in this category because they are formed from decayed organic matter.
Abiotic – Abiotic resources are those that come from non-living, non-organic material. Examples of
abiotic resources include land, fresh water, air and heavy metals including ores such as gold, iron,
copper, silver, etc.

Natural resources may be referred to in the following ways:

Potential resources — Potential resources are those that exist in a region and may be used in the
future. For example, petroleum occurs with sedimentary rocks in various regions, but until the time it
is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource.

Actual resources — Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality
determined and are being used in present times. The development of an actual resource, such as wood
processing depends upon the technology available and the cost involved.

Reserve resources — The part of an actual resource which can be developed profitably in the future
is called a reserve resource.

Stock resources — Stock resources are those that have been surveyed but cannot be used by
organisms due to lack of technology. For example: hydrogen.

Renewability is a very popular topic and many natural resources can be categorized as either
renewable or non-renewable:

Renewable resources — Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. Some of these resources,
like sunlight, air, wind, water, etc., are continuously available and their quantity is not noticeably
affected by human consumption. Though many renewable resources do not have such a rapid
recovery rate, these resources are susceptible to depletion by over-use. Resources from a human use
perspective are classified as renewable so long as the rate of replenishment/recovery exceeds that of
the rate of consumption. They replenish easily compared to Non-renewable resources.

Non-renewable resources – Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not naturally form in
the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included in this category. By the human
perspective, resources are non-renewable when their rate of consumption exceeds the rate of
replenishment/recovery; a good example of this are fossil fuels, which are in this category because
their rate of formation is extremely slow (potentially millions of years), meaning they are considered
non-renewable. Some resources actually naturally deplete in amount without human interference,
the most notable of these being radio-active elements such as uranium, which naturally decay into
heavy metals. Of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them, but coal and
petroleum cannot be recycled. Once they are completely used they take millions of years to replenish
Extraction

Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature. This can range in
scale from the traditional use of preindustrial societies, to global industry. Extractive industries are,
along with agriculture, the basis of the primary sector of the economy. Extraction produces raw
material which is then processed to add value. Examples of extractive industries are hunting, trapping,
mining, oil and gas drilling, and forestry. Natural resources can add substantial amounts to a country's
wealth however a sudden inflow of money caused by a resource boom can create social problems
including inflation harming other industries ("Dutch disease") and corruption, leading to inequality
and underdevelopment, this is known as the "resource curse".

Extractive industries represent a large growing activity in many less-developed countries but the
wealth generated does not always lead to sustainable and inclusive growth. Extractive industry
businesses often are assumed to be interested only in maximizing their short-term value, implying
that less-developed countries are vulnerable to powerful corporations. Alternatively, host
governments are often assumed to be only maximizing immediate revenue. Researchers argue there
are areas of common interest where development goals and business cross. These present
opportunities for international governmental agencies to engage with the private sector and host
governments through revenue management and expenditure accountability, infrastructure
development, employment creation, skills and enterprise development and impacts on children,
especially girls and women.

Depletion

In recent years, the depletion of natural resources has become a major focus of governments and
organizations such as the United Nations (UN). This is evident in the UN's Agenda 21 Section Two,
which outlines the necessary steps to be taken by countries to sustain their natural resources. The
depletion of natural resources is considered to be a sustainable development issue. "The conservation
of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to
solve all others.

Depletion of natural resources is associated with social inequity. Considering most biodiversity are
located in developing countries, depletion of this resource could result in losses of ecosystem services
for these countries. Some view this depletion as a major source of social unrest and conflicts in
developing nations.

At present, with it being the year of the forest, there is particular concern for rainforest regions which
hold most of the Earth's biodiversity. According to Nelson deforestation and degradation affect 8.5%
of the world's forests with 30% of the Earth's surface already cropped. If we consider that 80% of
people rely on medicines obtained from plants and ¾ of the world's prescription medicines have
ingredients taken from plants, loss of the world's rainforests could result in a loss of finding more
potential lifesaving medicines.

The depletion of natural resources is caused by 'direct drivers of change such as Mining, petroleum
extraction, fishing and forestry as well as 'indirect drivers of change' such as demography, economy,
society, politics and technology. The current practice of Agriculture is another factor causing depletion
of natural resources. For example, the depletion of nutrients in the soil due to excessive use of
nitrogen and desertification. The depletion of natural resources is a continuing concern for society.
This is seen in the cited quote given by Theodore Roosevelt, a well-known conservationist and former
United States president, who was opposed to unregulated natural resource extraction.

Protection

In 1982, the UN developed the World Charter for Nature, which recognized the need to protect
nature from further depletion due to human activity. It states that measures need to be taken at all
societal levels, from international to individual, to protect nature. It outlines the need for sustainable
use of natural resources and suggests that the protection of resources should be incorporated into
national and international systems of law. To look at the importance of protecting natural resources
further, the World Ethic of Sustainability, developed by the IUCN, WWF and the UNEP in 1990, set out
eight values for sustainability, including the need to protect natural resources from depletion

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with
the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction. It is
an interdisciplinary subject drawing on science, economics and the practice of natural resource
management. The term conservation biology was introduced as the title of a conference held at the
University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California, in 1978, organized by biologists Bruce A.
Wilcox and Michael E. Soule

Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore,
habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their
extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range.